Features

Why Simone Young programmed Strauss’s Salome after Wagner’s Ring.

by Jo Litson

Christie Whelan Browne on tackling both starring roles in All About Eve.

by Lenny Ann Low

Have musicologists deliberately kept certain composers in the closet?

by Nico de Napoli

Celebrating Australian pianist and composer Frederick Septimus Kelly.

by Chris Latham

Constantine Costi’s new handmade production of La bohème for OA.

by Jansson J. Antmann

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Soundings

Interview

Jonathan Biggins talks about his new novel, Near Death in Venice  – the first in a cosy crime series.

by Deborah Jones

On the Record

This month features a seafaring debut from Beth Taylor, piano albums from Mitsuko Uchida and András Schiff, and opera from Verdi and Handel, as well as a Kurt Weill Broadway blockbuster.

by Clive Paget

Cutting Edge

Hollis Taylor chats about her new work for Musica Viva Australia, co-composed with Jon Rose for the Latvian Radio Choir and recorder virtuoso Genevieve Lacey.

by Maddy Briggs

Classical Music

Following a triumphant showcase of all nine Beethoven symphonies in 2024, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra returns with a Brahms festival.

by Liam Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier

books

★★★★½ Anthony Roth Costanzo’s cultural pilgrimage is a virtuoso literary performance.

by Will Yeoman

Film

★★★ Though appealing at first, this Aussie film’s oddness yields diminishing results.

by Jason Blake

Film

★★★½  Olivia Colman shines in an off-beat, magic-real film.

by Jason Blake

In the Limelight

A round-up of our recent news reports.

The latest arts appointments and departures.

The buzz around live performance.

Radio and streaming concert highlights.

Coda

Guy Noble's Soapbox

This month, Guy Noble discusses nominative determinism and what might have happened if Donald Trump had a different surname.
As for his own name . . .

Playing Up

Bored with traditional cello training, Seattle-born Ruby Brallier discovered creative freedom in historical instruments, from the viola de gamba to a 300-year-old Baroque cello.

World Premiere

Ella Macens introduces her new Sydney Symphony Orchestra commission – a deeply personal reflection on lineage, gratitude and the passage of time.

5 Questions For

The much-admired Australian director discusses his return to Pinchgut Opera for Handel’s Semele.

My Music

The Bidjara songwoman and composer, known as ‘Australia’s Dreamtime Opera Diva’,
explains how the birds taught her to sing.

Playlists

Staff and Contributors

Print Editor
Jo Litson

Digital Editor
Jason Blake

Designer
Tristan Main

Editor-­at-­Large
Clive Paget

Staff Writer
Maddy Briggs

Contributors
Jansson J. Antmann, Aunty Delmae Barton, Peter Berner, Ruby Brallier, Nico de Napoli, Liam Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier, Deborah Jones, Chris Latham, Lenny Ann Low, Ella Macens, Guy Noble, Will Yeoman

Publisher

Limelight Arts Media Pty Ltd

Chief Executive Officer
Cara Anderson

Sales Manager
Carla Bird

Subscriptions and Marketing Manager 
Megan Staal

Operations & Sales Coordinator
Celine Widjaya

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